The trouble with gas cans

Like many of you, I expect, I own a lot of gas powered tools. Snow blower, lawn mower, chain saw, weed whacker, and generator for the short list. Then there are the bigger ones - pickup, car, and motorcycle. The last 3 I (generally) fill up right at the pump, but I like to have spare gas with me when possible. The smaller ones all require I have gas in the garage (and one or 2 that I pre-mix it with oil). This has led to an assortment of gas storage containers, mostly of the plastic variety. And all with modern "safety" nozzles.

Yes, I used quotes on safety. I have had more trouble with the various mechanisms that prevent gas from pouring until it should than I ever did with an old-style "Gooseneck" spout. I assume that a number of people either immolated themselves or something else, resulting in the safety mechanisms we now have. I know that, with these new contraptions, I have twice spilled gas on an engine and once on myself. I often end up with it on my hands after manually forcing that should be an "easy to use" system to engage and allow gas to flow.

Personally, I think if you cannot use a simple flexible spout to get gas into a gas tank, you should reconsider operating whatever you are fueling. Some might say you should be able to handle the fueling through the modern safety devices, but the issue on these is that the devices themselves are unreliable and the point of failure, not the operator. When the devices fail to engage, or get stuck, and require manual manipulation at the point of fueling, your device is less safe than the person operating it. The attitude should be one similar to operating a car - the most important safety mechanism is located between the ears of the driver.

All this lead to my pursuit for old style gas cans. I had a few key requirements for this pursuit:
- Easy, no frills spout
- No additional safety features that inhibit pouring
- Durable construction
- Useful for garage or in vehicle transportation

In the end I decided I wanted a metal can for durability. I don't mind plastic per se, but long term exposure to sunlight is not good for it, making it a poor choice in the bed of my truck. Additionally, I have yet to find one that comes with a good spout that meets the first requirement. The classic, squat, round cans are very hard to find. They are also often illegal in many states. The same is true of the NATO "Jerry" can, what many will recognize as the gas cans seen on the backs of jeeps and Range Rovers. I settled on picking up a couple of Jerry cans and spouts, despite not being permissible in my state for fuel usage. This is a risk I'm willing to take, your mileage may vary.

Metal gas cans get a bad wrap for the danger of sparks when the metal of the nozzle and the can opening come together. You know, like the metal when you put the nozzle in you car tank. There is also a worry of rust and degradation, but this comes down to upkeep and care. I'm willing to take on the simple maintenance. The final worry is that they tend to be fine up to temps of @130 degrees but have no vapor release valve, like many plastic cans do. Thus, if you put the can into, say, the hatch of a car, you can push it to the point where the can will fail and gas or vapor will escape. Without ignition, you're still not going to have a fire, but this isn't an ideal situation. I plan to keep it in the back of my pickup where the temperature will not exceed the outside air. In New England, 130 won't be an issue. I'm exploring mounting options, likely I'll just weld something up that I can easily take out when I need the full bed.

The classic "Jerry" can

So, where do you find them? It is possible to find used ones at an Army Navy store, but I really wanted to go new in this case. I finally settled on getting them from SafeCastle.com as I have a membership there. I rarely use it, it came with supporting The Survival Podcast, but in this case it pushed my price per can down to $44. I've found smaller cans for less, but for the 5 gallon version, this is a decent deal. I also don't pay shipping, which really helped. I had to have them shipped to a friend in a neighboring state. Again, my call, not advocating you do the same.

The cans are green in color, being of military design, so I'll be marking them as containing gas through labeling or painting them red. I bought a spout for each one which mounts nicely to the can itself. Putting the spout on and pouring safely and quickly into my power equipment should never be an issue again!